The Washington Wizards are enduring a historically rough patch, completing November with an 0-14 record, making them the 16th team in NBA history to go winless for an entire calendar month. This dubious accomplishment follows last season’s February stretch when the Wizards went 0-12 amidst a franchise-record 16-game losing streak.

While the Wizards and Pistons have faced significant challenges, their upcoming schedule isn’t getting smoother. The Wizards are entering a stretch against top teams like the Cavaliers, Mavericks, and Nuggets, putting them at risk of surpassing their franchise-record losing streak of 16 games. Meanwhile, the Pistons, who began this season with modest play-in hopes, face another tough schedule. As both teams aim to break these streaks, history suggests moral victories may be all they can hope for in the short term.

As Wizards forward Corey Kispert said, “Hard times like this…develop strong character and help you move forward,” but with their current 2-16 record, this team is on pace to join the league’s all-time worst seasons.

NBA Teams That Lost Every Game in a Month

The Wizards current .111 winning percentage mirrors the infamous 1973 Philadelphia 76ers who ESPN considers the worst team in NBA history. That Sixers team holds the record for the fewest wins in an 82-game season. This winless months aren’t aberrations either, they typically coincide with the teams with the NBA’s longest losing streaks. Here the some of the teams that have lost every game in a calendar month sorted by total losses (with a minimum 7 games played):

I think we can agree that November is rough month for bad franchises. While some teams come into training camp in-shape, with the same goals, dedicated teammates on the same page, a strategic coaching staff and a prideful organization, other franchises… don’t. When all those forces come together, the losses begin to mount at a record-breaking pace.

Expansion Ain’t Easy: The 1996 Vancouver Grizzlies

During their inaugural season proved to be a difficult that was underscored the growing pains of an expansion team trying to establish itself in a competitive league. The 1995-96 Vancouver Grizzlies faced a historically tough campaign, capped by a brutal 23-game losing streak spanning February to April, including a winless March. At the All-Star break, the team held a 10–37 record, already signaling the struggles of an expansion roster lacking depth and experience. Despite flashes of promise from key players like rookie big man Bryant “Big Country” Reeves, who averaged 13.3 points and 7.4 rebounds, and guard Greg Anthony’s veteran leadership, the Grizzlies finished last in the Midwest Division with an NBA-worst 15-67 record.

The 2024 Detroit Pistons Lost Every Game in November, Too

This year’s Wizards team isn’t alone in having a monthlong struggle. Just a season ago, the 2023-24 Detroit Pistons set their own ignominious mark, going 0-15 in November during a 16-game losing streak. Coach Monty Williams, while critical of moral victories, noted after a competitive loss, “I’m not into moral victories. I don’t know where that came from, it doesn’t make sense. But that was something that, that game, that output, that energy, production from our group is something that I’m proud of, and that’s the kind of competitive edge that we have to play with every single night,” Despite flashes of effort, the Pistons ranked near the bottom in both offensive and defensive efficiency during their winless month, allowing 120 points per 100 possessions while scoring only 107.9.

The Sixers Had a Miserable 2014-15 Season

Looking further back, the 2014-15 Philadelphia 76ers experienced not one but three winless months—October, November, and April—a feat of futility unmatched in NBA history. Given Philadelphia only played two games in October. Past that they lost all fourteen gams in November 2014 and all seven games in April to end the 2014-15 season. The Sixers’ intentional rebuild, dubbed “The Process,” prioritized long-term success over short-term wins, but their three-month drought underscored the difficulty of maintaining competitiveness during rebuilds.

From the Sixers’ infamous winless months to the Wizards and Pistons’ recent struggles, going winless for a month highlights the unique volatility of the NBA—a league where even the worst teams are expected to stumble into a win but can also have games where everything comes together. In either case, don’t say they’re tanking… they’re rebuilding.